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Knights suffer first loss at Harbor Creek; Dragons win

Warren 285-pounder Matt Ristau tries to put Oil City’s Nathanial Daly’s shoulders to the mat during their match at Oil City High School, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. Ristau won via pinfall and the Dragons rolled to a 60-10 win over the Oilers.

HARBORCREEK – When trying to get to the top, teams must at some point knock off the reigning king of the mountain.

Eisenhower wrestlers went into the match with Harbor Creek Thursday trying to dethrone the king. The Huskies showed why they’re at the top, coming away with a 57-18 win over the Knights that was much closer than the score would indicate.

“A lot of matches could have gone either way,” Eisenhower coach Kris Black said. “A lot of different matches could have gone different ways. They found a way to get it done and we just didn’t. They were just a better team tonight.”

The Knights also had to juggle their lineup a bit tonight as both Garrett Head and Alex Barnett, who earned a pin and major decision against Union City, respectively Tuesday, were unable to compete.

“It’s just the way life handles it,” Black said. “Put the loss on my shoulders, I didn’t have the guys ready to go tonight.”

Not everything was bleak for Eisenhower. Justin Hagberg picked up a pin over Nick Bille at 182 as the senior continues to improve as the season rolls on.

“Hagberg is getting better every single time out,” Black said. “He seems to come through in big matches for us a lot.”

Additionally, Easton Hedman and Logan Jaquay continued their phenomenal seasons. Both had decision wins over their opponents. Spencer Head closed out the match on a positive note for the Knights, decking Tyler Charlson at 2:25.

While the Knights have seen a resurgence this season, Black knows his team still has work to do if they’re to supplant the Huskies atop Region 3.

“Going into Harbor Creek’s gym and the crowd that was there, because they hyped this match too, it was big for our guys to wrestle in that environment,” he said. “It’s intense and that’s good.

“Moreso than anything, our guys really bonded tonight as far as the experience, having each other’s back and supporting the whole way through,” he added. “That’s going to pay dividends down the road.”

Eisenhower is scheduled to participate in the Falconer Tournament this weekend, though that could change if weather conditions deteriorate.

“We’re going to go back to work this weekend,” Black said. “I feel strongly about this group. They want to win. And they’re going to.”

– – –

Harbor Creek 57, Eisenhower 18

160: JT Bratt (HC) via forfeit

170: Shane Watkins (HC) pin Ethan Chambers, 1:11

182: Justin Hagberg (E) pin Nick Bille, 3:53

195: Dom Viscuso (HC) pin Matt Huling, 4:48

220: Lucas Follmar (HC) pin Brandon Gourley, :23

285: Collin Askins (HC) pin Josef Bauer, 1:27

106: Logan Jaquay (E) dec. Joey Gabler, 8-3

113: Easton Hedman (E) dec. Joe Capan, 13-11

120: Andy Dalton (HC) pin Jake Williams, 1:27

126: Mike Gabler (HC) dec. Josh Bortz, 6-5

132: Nick Oosterkamp (HC) pin Nate Holt, 4:07

138: Carter Krewszinski (HC) pin Thomas Anderson, 1:17

145: Sam Sallot (HC) pin Sam Holt, 1:25

152: Spencer Head (E) pin Tyler Charlson, 2:25

– – –

WARREN 60, OIL CITY 10

OIL CITY – Warren won seven matches via forfeit and picked up three pins on its way to a 60-10 win at Oil City Thursday.

Owen Balas (152), Jamo Douvlos (160) and Matt Ristau (285) earned the pinfall victories.

“Jamo had his best match of the year,” Warren coach Dean Johnson said. “He wore his guy down and pinned him with one second left.”

Ryan Madigan (113), Donovan Fiscus (132), Liam Stevenson (170), Dominic Caprino (182), Joey Arnold (195) and Thomas Lucks (220) all had the evening off as they won via forfeit.

“I’m really happy to get the win even though they are short staffed,” Johnson said. “We wrestled hard.

“Even with the matches we lost, we wrestled hard,” he continued. “We’re going to build with this and the match tomorrow.”

The Dragons are scheduled to host Redbank Valley tonight.

– – –

Warren 60, Oil City 10

106: No match

113: Ryan Madigan (W) via forfeit

120: Carter Stanley (OC) dec. Avery Smith, 4-2

126: Donovan Fiscus (W) via forfeit

132: Mitchell Rossey (OC) maj. dec. Alex Anderson, 14-3

138: Ty Strawbridge (OC) dec. John Fankhouser, 11-9

145: Zack Zinger (W) via forfeit

152: Owen Balas (W) pin Kaden Geib, 3:07

160: Jamo Douvlos (W) pin Kevin Vanwarmer, 5:59

170: Liam Stevenson (W) via forfeit

182: Dominic Caprino (W) via forfeit

195: Joey Arnold (W) via forfeit

220: Thomas Lucks (W) via forfeit

285: Matt Ristau (W) pin Nathanial Daly, 2:31

– – –

UNION CITY 76, YOUNGSVILLE 6

Results were unavailable at press time.

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